Craig White Gritty 94 Not Out vs India at Nottingham in 2002 – A 6ft 1in tall Craig White is a muscular all-rounder who shone briefly for England between 1994 and 2003. His natural instinct to attack bowlers usually comes at Number 7 or 8. He loves to play aggressive shots, is keen to hook and drive the fast bowlers, and hit the spinners into the deep; he added greater depth and reliability to his game.
Born on 16 Dec 1969 Craig White used to lash the opposition when in his groove, and he was even more harsh against spin. At the start of his career, he used to bowl his right arm off spin, which raised the purity of his spin-bowling action, but later on, he became a fast bowler.
One of his special weapons is swinging the old ball, when most England bowlers didn’t have this ability. Craig White only issue was that he lacked consistency and said often carried away by over-aggression.
Craig White’s most cherished moment was probably when he hit a magnificent 121 against India in sweltering heat at Ahmadabad. His innings helped England salvage a draw. Another notable innings was 93 against Pakistan in Lahore in 2000. His unbeaten 85 in a rearguard action against arch-rivals, Australia, at the MCG was also nothing short of brilliant, although it went in vain. Another most cherishing moment of his career was when he dismissed Brian Lara for the first golden duck of his Test career in 2001.
After England’s failure in the 2003 World cup, Craig was prone to multiple injuries, forcing him to call off his bowling.
After retiring from all forms of cricket, Craig White opts to select a coaching position with Hampshire Cricket Club. His sister Andrea is married to Australian left-handed batsman Darren Lehmann, as both played together for a number of years.
In 30 Test matches, he scored 1,052 runs @ 24.46, including 1 hundred, 5 fifties, 121 Top score, 14 catches, and 59 wickets @ 37.62, with the best of 5 for 32, including 3 times five wickets in an innings.
Craig White narrowly missed a century against India in the 2nd Test of Nottingham in August 2002. He played typically aggressive innings of 94 not out in 119 balls, including 12 fours and 1 six.